By
Ilya Gridneff

A Sydney man whose car mounted a kerb and hit a mother and her newborn baby has escaped a jail sentence and instead will do 50 hours of community service.

A Sydney man whose car mounted a kerb and hit a mother and her newborn baby has escaped a jail sentence and instead will do 50 hours of community service.

Magistrate Graeme Curran disqualified Bryce Wayland from driving for 15 months and ordered him to conduct manual labour in Downing Centre Local Court on Monday.

"I don't consider jail appropriate," he said.

Mr Curran said despite negligence in this "undeniable tragedy" there was a low level of culpability and Mr Wayland was "no doubt very remorseful."

Mr Wayland declined to comment when he left the court.

Mr Wayland, 27, of Queenscliff, was found guilty of negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm last year after a horror accident in which his Lexus sedan ploughed into Emma De Silva, 36, at St Peters in south Sydney on March 14, 2011.

Ms De Silva, 36, who was pushing her 19-day-old baby girl in a pram, suffered serious head injuries and her infant was also injured.

In an earlier court hearing, Mr Curran said the events of March 14, 2011 were "tragic by any measure".

"They are tragic for Ms De Silva who sustained catastrophic injuries that have devastated her life," Mr Curran said.

"[They are] also tragic for the effect that her injuries had on her child, husband, her family and friends."

The court heard Ms De Silva was in a coma for eight weeks after the accident, suffered brain damage and can no longer walk without assistance.

"The events have also undoubtedly left [Mr Wayland] distressed and disturbed," Mr Curran said.

"No-one is left untouched by the appalling outcome of the events."

After the incident, Mr Wayland told police he mounted the kerb after the accelerator pedal in the car became caught under a floor-mat and jammed.

The court heard from other Lexus car owners who said they had experienced similar problems.

Mr Curran accepted Mr Wayland's accelerator got jammed.

But he found the accident might have been avoided if Mr Wayland had applied the brakes.